3 articles · Updated · theclimatebrink.com · Aug 3
Summary
Adjusted U.S. heatwave records show recent extremes rival the Dust Bowl: GHCN ranks 1936 first and 2023 second, while Berkeley Earth puts 2023 first and 1936 third.
The reversal comes after removing biases in the long-circulated chart, which relied on raw station data and uneven station coverage that overstated 1930s heat relative to today.
The analysis says the 1930s spike was largely regional—centered on the Midwest—and was amplified by drought plus poor farming practices that worsened the Dust Bowl.
Since the 1970s, heatwaves have risen again, but this time as a global signal tied to greenhouse-gas warming rather than a localized land-use shock.